Don't trim gladiolus yet

July 31, 2010|By Tom MacCubbin, IN THE GARDEN

Q: My gladiolus have finished blooming. Should I remove the top foliage or let it die down?

A: Don't be in a hurry to remove the green tops from gladiolus plants. The greenery manufactures foods needed by the corms, a below ground bulb-like portion, to mature. Wait until the green leaves turn yellow to brown to cut them back to the ground. When this occurs the corms can be left in the ground or removed and stored for planting at a later date.

Green palm fronds are good sign

Q: Two of the trunks of my roebellinii palm have green at the top but are not growing. The third trunk is making new growth. Will the others still recover from what is likely cold damage?

A: Where there is green, there is hope the palm is going to recover. The green frond portions means there is still life in the top of the palm but the bud is likely injured. Give the palm as much time as it needs, at least until the fronds turn brown and then, wait a month or two more before removing the trunks. Palms can be very slow to recover from cold damage.

Turning sour fruit sweet is tricky

Q: I have two mature orange trees that produce a lot of sour fruit. Is there anyway I can sweeten the oranges?

A: Sour fruits usually come form a sour fruit producing root stock. The good sweet variety has been lost and only grafting it back on would make the produce from these trees palatable again. This is not easy but it can be done with the help of a bulletin on citrus propagation from your local University of Florida Extension office.

Changing the variety back to a desirable selection is going to take some practice. It is a task you are probably going to have to learn yourself as there appears to be no companies offering this service for residential trees. Getting the trees back into production is going to take a number of years too. Unless you want a challenge, it is often better to replace the older trees with new grafted ones.

Large sagos may have deep roots

Q: I have two sagos that have been dead for two years and I want to pull them out of a pool side area. Do the roots go very deep? There is a sprinkler system below them.

A: After being dead for two years, you might be able to push this sago over but it's probably best to dig it out carefully. Root systems usually grow proportionate to the size of the plant. The larger the plant the more extensive the root system. Yet, most of the roots are probably in the upper foot of soil no matter how big the plant has grown.

Your first job is to locate the irrigation line. Then dig around it to loosen the roots from the system. Then try to define the root system by digging down in the soil. Also dig under the sago and you are ready to remove it from the pool area. If a large sago you may want to enlist the help of some friends as each cubic foot of soil in the root ball can weigh about 90 pounds.